It's a good thing that Fletcher, Tee and Cruz Birkeland were all born with different hair styles; otherwise, their mom, Kristi Ferguson of Faith, wouldn't be able to tell her newborn identical triplets apart.

Fletcher's hair spikes up a little, Cruz's makes a little cowlick in front, and Tee's hair lies somewhat flat, Ferguson said.

The boys were born less than 2 minutes apart June 27 after a pregnancy of only 33 weeks and one day, giving them a ticket into the neonatal intensive care unit at Rapid City Regional Hospital. They all weighed less than 4 pounds.

For the past month, the triplets have been helped by the aid of several pieces of equipment in neonatal intensive care that were bought with donations to the Children's Miracle Network.

One of the specialized machines is a giraffe bed, which costs at least $40,000 and moves up and down, which maintains warmth and humidity in the Isolette, according to Cathy Allan, the nursing director at neonatal intensive care.

The triplets and their mom have used other machines, such as a breast pump, monitors and cribettes, all bought by Children's Miracle Network. The machines have helped their growth, as the staff moved the boys to intermediate neonatal intensive care last Sunday. The boys are close to going home, Allan said, but Tee may have to stay longer because of a stomach problem.

"They've been growing like crazy," Ferguson said. "God blessed us to give us three healthy babies."

When Ferguson went into labor June 5, she went to the hospital in Hettinger, N.D. They then brought her by ambulance to Rapid City Regional Hospital, where she remained on bed rest for three weeks.

"It was a miracle we ended up here," Ferguson said. Rapid City and Sioux Falls are the only places with neonatal intensive care units in the region, besides Denver.

Children's Miracle Network also helps with travel expenses for the babies' father, Jace Birkeland, who drives every weekend to Rapid City, equaling a 320-mile roundtrip. Ferguson has only been home once during her stay at Rapid City Regional, but she has family in the area with whom she can stay. Sidni, Ferguson's six-year-old daughter, has also made the trip to visit her new brothers.

"She's anxious for us all to be home again," Ferguson said. "She loves her little brothers."

Children's Miracle Network has been at Rapid City Regional Hospital for 19 years and has helped many babies and families in the Black Hills area. Their funding comes from donations through events such as the Cutest Baby contest and the Great Black Hills Duck Race, which will be held Sunday.

The Blanks are another family helped by equipment bought by Children's Miracle Network. Trish and Mike's twin sons were born three months prematurely, and their youngest, Cameron, 9, was born with a malformation of a vein in his brain.

For the past 11 years, the Blanks have been involved with Children's Miracle Network events, giving back to the organization that kept their boys alive. They dedicate the month of July to selling ducks and have been the team that consistently sells the most ducks, according to Angie Kliewer, the agency's fundraising and services director.

"When people see us anymore, they say, 'There's the duck people,'" Trish said. The Blank family has sold 2,500 ducks a year for the past few years. "We want to give back to the organization," Trish said. "We are thankful that it was here and that they were here for us. We want to raise as much money as we can so that someone else has this opportunity to use it."

The public can still buy ducks, which cost $5; those who sponsor five ducks will get a free duck-race T-shirt. Ducks can be bought from teams in Rapid City at Rushmore Mall, Wal-Mart, Family Thrift Center, McDonald's and at the locations of the sponsors, or online at www.rcrhfoundation.org/WaysToGive/Productlist.aspx?ProgramID=11.