17 month old not wanting to play

FabulousMrs.P

My DD has been going through separation anxiety and it does seem to get worse when she is teething which she has been doing during the last month. (She is getting several teeth at once...molars and eye teeth). Over the last month she is just miserable at daycare. She goes to a small in-home daycare with 2 other kids around her age. She has know these kids forever. Over the last month she is suddenly not wanting to play with the other kids...crying on and off through the day. Yesterday she just turned her back to them and cried.

I know she isn't feeling well lately and the separation anxiety has been at its height. She doesn't want to be away from me, but the babysitter is telling me that "she just needs to get over this"...like it is something  I can control. My mom keeps telling me it is just a stage and we are probably at the height of it and to just keep doing what we are doing and she will work her way through it. I agree, I think it is just a stage, but I am not sure what else I can do to make it better.

She goes to daycare 2x per week. Two weeks ago we thought maybe she is just not getting enough exposure to other people, so we have been really trying to get her out and about...we are taking her to the mall on Saturday mornings to play in the little toddler play area they have there. She is shy at first when we go, but as time goes on, she gets further away from me in the play area and starts to interact with the other kids. She does like to watch the other kids a lot and I notice her paying close attention to them even before she interacts with them.

In addition, now that it is warmer, we are going to her big cousins tennis and tee-ball games. We figured it would be good for her to get out and be around other people.

She is very cautious in personality...she didn't walk until she was SURE she could, but then she never really fell. She takes awhile to warm up to people, but once she does, she is very loving & affectionate.

Any suggestions on anything else I can do? I just feel so stressed out right now...I want her to enjoy her time at daycare...not cry all day!