My brother's kids have never taken a pacifier. Mostly because they've never really tried to give them one. Which is fine by me...but today I put DS down for a nap in the crib awake w/ a pacifier and he put himself to sleep, and my brother was like "He still uses a pacifier? Isn't he a little old for that?"
Really? 5 months is too old? Annoying...
Re: vent...
I get comments about the white noise machine too!
Also, I found out today that my brother and sis in law let their kids fall asleep in front of TV every night instead of any kind of bedtime routine. Nice.
In all fairness to your brother, most parenting classes and doctors now do not recommend the use of baby powder because it can be harmful to baby's lungs. So maybe he and his wife don't use it? But in general I understand what you are saying.