17 month old who gets clingy

my daugher and i are very active during the week...we belong to a moms grop, a playgroup on weds, parent/tot class on thursdays, and at least 2 playdates a week....i do all of my cleaning at night so i can devote my time to Bella and not have her under my feet if im doing laundry or cleaning the bathroom.....however, lately she just doesnt want to play by herself...in the A.M she is fine on her own while i shower or make breakfast but as soon as she wakes up from her nap(around 4pm) all she wants is mommy and wants to be held...i do for about 20 min and i try to distract her to play with a toy out of her closet but she screams and throws a fit...i have to cook dinner around the time she gets up or if the phone rings she doesnt let me talk.she pulls on my pant leg, screams and screams...i feel we do so much together, she needs to learn to be on her own sometimes...like in the A.M when she can play and watch tv for a little while. Am i doing TOO much with her? i have heard so many people say each child has their "bewitching" hour. has anyone else experienced this? what have you done about it? is it a phase that will last a long time? she is very verbal and tells me what she wants so i dont think its frustration in that way, she just wants ME all the time!

Re: 17 month old who gets clingy

usually my son who is also 17 months starts to get clingy when he is coming down with something

I also noticed as soon as I get home from work he wants to be held and no one else can talk to him or touch him, he gets mad

recently I noticed he wants to be held when I cook...he gets excited watching make thing and started clapping when i emptied the spinach into the dish

if it happening while you are in the kitchen she might just be curious as to what is going on up there on those counters

he also clings to me when the bubbles come out at gymboree..I guess he wants to share the moment