I had twins at 53. They keep me moving and young.

• I got pregnant with twins on my third round of IVF.
• Three embryos were transferred, and two successfully implanted: John and Ally.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kate Kearney. It has been edited for length and clarity.

As I climbed the old wrought iron stairs in a nondescript building in Chinatown, I looked for the apartment number for the acupuncturist that my IVF doctor had given me. After finding it, I opened the door to a bright and cheery office, checked in, and waited. The acupuncturist called my name and led me into the treatment room, where I undressed, slipped on a robe, and lay on the table.

I was 53 and living in Queens, New York, then with my partner, who wanted to have kids. I had two other kids, Jet and Austin — already 20 and 10 — from a former marriage, but since he wanted to have kids, I agreed to try. And so we did.

Within a couple of minutes, she returned and explained how the treatment worked while she placed tiny needles into my stomach. I hoped this would help my body accept the fertilized eggs that my IVF doctor would implant, and it would take me to a full-term pregnancy. This was the third time my partner and I tried to have kids through IVF. The first time failed, and the second implant resulted in an ectopic pregnancy that had to be terminated to save my life.

I was pregnant with twins

The next time I saw the acupuncturist was at the IVF clinic outside of Princeton, where she performed a different type of procedure just minutes before moving to another room, where my doctor implanted the fertilized eggs in my uterus. The next time the doctor examined me, we got the good news. I was pregnant.

She had implanted three eggs. Two were successful and eventually grew to become my beloved John and Ally. I knew I was pregnant with twins almost immediately because the numbers that my doctor was tracking shot up dramatically — and I was excited.

During the pregnancy, I returned to Chinatown for more acupuncture treatments to help the pregnancy, which had a low success rate for women over 50. But a doctor said I could still carry children, and so I went ahead with all the confidence in the world that I could do it.

The twins were born at 34 weeks

I took a year of medical leave from my stressful job as an Assistant Public Defender to nurture my pregnancy. I had an uneventful pregnancy with no significant problems. My blood pressure crept up a little, but not to a degree of concern. I made it to 34 weeks, which is good for twins. They were what the doctor called super preemies, meaning they weren't in any danger. They just had to grow a little because I'd only gone to 34 weeks.

The doctor wanted me to do a 24-hour urine test, so I checked into the hospital and gave urine samples every hour for 24 hours. After reading the results, he decided it was time. He entered my room as I was eating an apple and said, "Don't eat another thing. We're going to have these babies this afternoon!"

After the delivery, I stayed in the hospital for five days. I came home with Ally, twin A, the bigger of the twins who weighed three pounds. John, twin B, who weighed two pounds, stayed for a couple more days. Now he towers over me, and he's an athlete.

I'm in my 70s now, and they keep me young

I will be 73 in a month. The twins will turn 20 in November. They've just finished their freshman years in college, and both made the Dean's list. From the time they were born, we've done a lot of traveling and exploring. I took them out for nature walks, to museums, and for lots of far-flung vacations.

My kids have most definitely kept me younger because they have kept me on my toes. It was always fun. In the summer between fourth and fifth grade, we drove across the country from Long Island to relatives in Minnesota and then onto Oregon and down the coast to Huntington Beach, where my son Jet was living.

We saved a lot of money on that trip because I was over 62, and they were under 12, so all we needed was a national park senior pass for me, and the kids were admitted for free. Accordingly, we were able to visit all the national parks on a $5 pass.

One of the things that I was able to give my kids was a better appreciation of my '60s and '70s eras of music. They know much more about my era of music than their classmates do.

In return, I've learned so much about their generation's music. A couple of years ago, they even took me to a Drake concert which was awesome. For my 70th birthday, Ally and John took me to the Woodstock Museum to celebrate my attendance at Woodstock back in 1969.

All in all, it has been a very special experience with these two and I am so very glad I made that fateful decision.