HNT- becoming a parent

fresh from the hospital last Sept 2005...notice the umbilical cord stub still on her tummy. If you look in the upper part of the picture you can see the plastic tub ("bassinet") that I kept on my nightstand for Avery.
She was so small to put in her crib and I was having a difficult time getting use to the baby monitor so I simply kept her on my nightstand and it worked quiet well for the first several weeks. I had heard of people using dresser drawers but really......that just didnt sound as comfy as a personal rubbermaid tub lined with blankets.

these days Avery is starting to show signs of being afraid of the floor. She'll go into a panic and act terrified that something is behind her and come bolting for my arms. If I dont pick her up with the momentum that she's coming at me, the girl starts climbing me and looks back over her shoulders as if there's something about to attack her. Do babies see monsters or is this from the chasing games her dad and I play with her in the evenings? Its getting pretty ridiculous.
If after I pick her up and comfort her and distract her for a minute or two, Avery still refuses to be put back anywhere on the floor. Even if I'm sitting directly next to her and she can climb over my legs, she still jumps to be up in my arms and being held....its a panic situtaion and I dont understand where its coming from. Could be that she's afraid that she might learn to walk if she's given too much time on her own outside of my embrace.

This day one year ago I was walking the mall for the second day in a row and batman treated me to a Godiva Chocolate shake....I just remember feeling so ridiulous knowing I was in labor and having contractions every 7 minutes and wondering if the people around knew what I was doing and if they felt nervous or uncomfortable at the thought of a woman walking the public mall and stopping to lean on aquariums while the contractions passed. I'll never forget that blue fish that stopped to look at me and watched.