• In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer on medium speed to beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined (approximately 1 minute). Add the pudding mix and beat well for 2 more minutes. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is in contact with the pudding so a film doesn’t form on the top. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours (or overnight) to allow enough time for the pudding to set before completing the next steps.
• In the bowl of the stand mixer (or a large bowl if you are using a hand mixer), whip the heavy cream on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to whip the cream past stiff peaks because it will turn to butter and you will have to start over.
• Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until it is well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

Banana Pudding Assembly

• Select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity so there is enough space to hold the whole mixture. Put a small amount of vanilla pudding on the bottom of the bowl and layer one-third of the Nilla wafers to cover the pudding. Overlap the wafers, if necessary. Follow the wafers with one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layers (i.e., wafers, bananas, pudding) two more times and then cover tightly with plastic wrap.
• Chill the banana pudding in the fridge for 4-8 hours. Less than 4 hours will not allow the cookies to soften enough. More than 8 hours and the cookies will have softened too much.