Who is the primary care giver? Your husband might want to take over the majority of the care for the next couple of months. Also, does the sex of the "stranger" matter? Some Greys have a preference regarding the sex of the handler. Does Echo come out by himself, or do you have to take him out?
In our household, my wife, Margaret does the care in the morning when I'm at work. Babu, who is mainly my bird, will growl. Margaret will tell him to "Step-up," and then when he's on her hand will tell him "Settle" if he continues to growl. That usually settles him down.
I'm not sure exactly when the first molt occurs. Paddywack (RIP) used to get cranky when he went through his major molt, especially the first few days. Once the pin-feathers broke through and grew a bit, he'd let us gently roll the feather between our fingers to break the sheath. He'd only let Margaret handle him the first few days during his molt.