orphaned field mouse

Question
Background:
This past Saturday, I was in the Park--it was nearly 94 degrees and, when a friend went to wash her hands, a wee infant mouse came out of the spigot. I say mouse because from images---on line, that's what it appears to be.  She had already touched it,as had several other curious people,  so what could we do? It was too broiling hot to leave it, so I thought, let the infant rest in a box with paper toweling at home. Perhaps I could alleviate suffering.
Observations: It has fur, eyes closed and body no longer than a 25 cent piece. Dark gray. Paws, long dark gray tail.

Strategy: I went on line,  to learn what I could to treat the infant humanely.
Since no pet stores were opened to buy KMR which some sites recommend, I have sought to hydrate it and feed it drops of warmed diluted cows milk (1% is all I had), a dot of corn syrup. This emergency recipe I found on internet from a woman who has done this in England.  

Animal's Response:
The infant appears to take the milk via a tiny brush, has had at least six BMs, I use a q tip to rub tummy to discourage bloat, etc. And q tip helps clean the baby--urine, too has come out. I am feeding as much as I can but that's been only 8-10 times in 36 hours, and not evenly spaced.

I couldn't let the wee thing stay in the heat and die; the struggle (and will to live) was palpable, even valiant. And now am at a loss as to what I may humanely do.

Some sites suggest they can be brought to maturity and released if they have some yogurt or Benabac pre release to get gut flora going. Of course, the attrition rate before reaching maturity is staggeringly high and this I accept if I have at least diminished the infant's struggle on that blistering day.  

Any guidance is appreciated and I hope you'll understand, and forgive me, though misguided I may have been, my intentions were to prevent the suffering in the scorching heat and allow quiet rest in a clean, dry, safe and warm warm box. I have used paper towling, shredded into two inch strips. This morning, the little tyke--quite able to wrap around my index finger, and crane his neck upward and turned his head around. He appeared lively--while not robust--but able to move around. Crawled for a bit and then, after each feeding, seems to need sleep. He cleans his whiskers with his little front paws. And dozes. All creatures great and small. Thanks.

Answer
Dear Lonny,

Thank you for taking pity on the little thing!  How on earth did it get there and its family not be washed out too?  It was obviously meant to be your mouse!

You've done a great job with your internet research.  I assume the mouse is still naked?  That would make it less than a week old.  I have been surprised at the stories I have heard through this site at people who have had great success with their wild infants, though of course it is still a risky business.  Since you are obviously comfortable researching, I would suggest you go to my profile (click on my name) and look back at the last few pages of my replies.  I generally name the topic well, so anything you see called babies or wild babies would be useful to read.

Of course it would be better to feed it as often as you can.  Its mom feeds it about every half hour and people usually say every 2-3 hours minimum.  I have heard people who have taken them to work and school with a hot water bottle so they could tend to their needs.  

As for returning it to the wild, if you like mice I'd suggest you keep it! I'd wait till it is 2 months old to return it so it has the strength to make up for the training it doesn't have.  Of course any particular baby wild mouse has very little chance at surviving very long in the wild:  This is why they have so many babies!   It is going to be so tame and attached to you that it will make a wonderful pet.  

Write back with any questions.

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha