And this here is why when people tell me to have a second child...I take a pass.

There will be favorites. That's life. It sucks OP...

What if your sister's daughter will appreciate it though??

Lineal primogeniture.

I know this is about your mom and not the furniture, but -- if you have a good relationship with your sister, you can just arrange to get the hope chest from her when your mom passes.

If you have a child, please start looking for a nice chest now that can be her (or his!) hope chest growing up, and can be a gift from you when your child is of age. If you are into this kind of symbolism, you can fill it with baby mementos and your hopes for your child's future -- which makes more sense than the original use, nowadays, anyway.

Sorry, OP. There's a current thread on favoritism. It sucks. Focus on the good relationships in your life and lower your expectations of your mother. Hugs.

I realize this will be stupid to most of you, but I need to get this out so I can let it go.
It's just another symbolism of my mother's favoritism and seeing my older sister as an extension of herself.
She won't like it or appreciate it because she has specific tastes and to be honest is a bit shallow but she's the oldest daughter so she gets the hope chest and then she can pass it on to her daughter.
Doesn't matter that I love antiques. I came out of the womb just a few years to late.
It's the way it's always been. Should have stopped at 2 kids mom.