Well, at Rowan's 6-month checkup one of the "developmental milestones" I had to address was whether Rowan was yet afraid of strangers. I answered a cheerful "nope!", thinking "this outgoing baby isn't going to get afraid of strangers! He loves people!" Boy, was I wrong.
Today I brought Rowan to the office with me briefly. He was in his stroller, happy as a clam. Well-fed, well-rested, comfy. Smiling at me as we rode the elevator and walked down the hallway. We saw someone I know, so we stopped to chat. This person who shall remain nameless knelt down to say hi to Rowan, who promptly crunched his face, took in a long serious breath, and screamed. And screamed! I had to apologize and walk away before the entire building was disturbed by the wailing. Then, past my advisor's office I walked, and he was inside and called out to me. I strolled Rowan up to the door, but not inside, and when greeted by the friendly bearded stranger from across the room, Rowan started screaming again! All in all, we had seven screaming encounters before I made it to my office. Once I was holding him, all the strangers could say hello and Rowan was smiling and cooing again. Sigh. Progress.