Yes, by all means, do what you can for those babies. Yorkies are not a breed where you can let nature take its course. If you don't intervene, you are setting yourself up for heartbreak and suffering for the babies.
My experience has been that newborns usually plump by the third day. It's kind of hard to tell before that because they usually have some vigor due to pre-natal nutrition. If you have any tiny ones, though, they will get pushed aside and not get a good chance to nurse.
I keep a tight eye on my newborns and don't hesitate to intervene if one is lagging behind the others. I use canned goat's milk (diluted with equal parts water) and add some karo to it. I feed with a dropper as this seems easiest to do without causing aspiration.
I have a baby that is now 3 weeks old and is just 5.5 ounces. I started hand feeding her on the third day as she wasn't getting enough from her Mom. It was an around-the-clock thing for two weeks. In the last few days, she has picked up enough so that I'm only giving her just a little a couple of times a day to make sure she's got a full belly. Her weight gain has been very slow but she's definitely making good progress.
In general, I think that early recognition of a baby not thriving and intervention will help you get better results. Around-the-clock feedings and keeping them warm are crucial.
Best of luck to you and your babies. |