Sons first week at daycare blues

Hey everyone. Long time reader. First time posting. Hope this is a constructive, positive conversation.I am the father to My son Landen (16 months) who started day care for the first week by himself this week. We had done a few half days with him (we stayed) to help with the transition.His first week was as tough as we imagined, both for Landen and us. He cried when we left and took a while to calm before he was playing. His voice was hoarse by the end of the first day, which has developed into a chest/sinus cold. We both feel so deeply for him during this transition. He is at an age where he understands a lot, but can communicate very little. He feels, sees, and touches... but cannot verbally communicate. We tried consoling him before leaving him each day, but in a strong and comforting way. We want to make sure we do not project our anxiety for him so we do not intensify his reaction.We kept him out yesterday because his nose was running quite a bit and he struck a low fever. He is doing much better today. We expected him to catch a cold being around so many new germs. This is not my reason for posting.I am noticing he has developed separation anxiety. Any time I leave the room he cries and runs for my legs to cling on and never let go. He thinks every moment we leave him we are leaving him at day care. I could never possibly know his full thought process, but I imagine it’s a fear of being left.How long does this take to go away generally? I know the adjustment at the daycare will take time, but did not anticipate an immediate change in his behaviors outside of the daycare environment. I didn’t think he would develop a fear of us leaving so fast. Landen is very bright and in the 90th percentile for his height and weight. I guess I should have expected this...This has been incredibly challenging for my wife and I. We feel so deeply for him and it saddens us to see him like this. We are being strong though. Any advice from professional parents or career leaders would be so appreciated.Thanks for taking the time to read this 🙏🏻 via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2GXdoU6