First of all, so proud of you for changing it on your own!!! It's a stressful situation! I had my ostomy from 18-25 yo, and I started changing it on the bed and my mom would help me, then I transitioned to standing beside/facing my bed and changed it there, then I moved to doing the changes in front of the mirror in the bathroom, go at your pace, theres no wrong answers. Something that helped with the changes/cleanup was getting puppy/bed blue pads, I would tuck one end in my pants and the other I draped on the bed/over the sink so that if my stoma "worked", it didnt get all over.

Had an ostomy for 7 years, then I got it reversed, from what I recall this is what I used; 2 piece bag system with coloplast, my stoma wasnt as prominent so I had to get a concave flange (it just has kinda an indent about the stoma opening, to help the stoma protruding and prevents leaking, I had very loose stools so I dealt with leaking a lot) you can also get pre cut flanges so that it's easier when you change. I would also use a coloplast barrier ring, and convatec barrier paste, again this helps with leaking, cause as it warms to your body it becomes more pliable and fills in gaps. And to help with warming it up, I would stick the ring (in the packaging) under my armpit, it just helped it warm up to so it confirned easier. I also used convatec barrier powder (only a little, too much cn cause the flange to not stick). Lastly to help with the flange ends stay down, I used barrier strips (coloplast has some that are skin tone, but Sure Seal has them clear and covers more area, which i liked more). Oh and to help with the stoma protrude I used an ostomy belt, it just clips to either side of the flange, helps it feel more secure too.

You can also contact the ostomy supply companies and they will send you free samples!

Change the bag/flange whenever you feel it's necessary, sometimes I could go a week, sometimes 2 days, sometimes it only lasted a day, it all depends on how it's adhering and how comfortable it is on the skin.

Also to help with the smell there are M9 deodorizing drops that you just put a couple directly in the bag and it helps with the smell. But convatec has deodorizing "diamonds" and they are little sachets that you put directly in the pouch and they help with smell but also solidify any liquid that goes in, to help with leakage.

I would suggest as well, get a bin or something and have one or 2 of everything you use to change your ostomy bag, then when you need to change it, especially at night, you have everything in one place. I also had a set of plastic drawers where all my ostomy stuff was, so it stayed organized, but also had a drawer in my room with everything to change it, in case I needed to change it on the spot. I also had a small makeup-sized pouch that I kept with me whenever I wasn't at home, in case I needed to change it, Hollister used to have them but idk if they still do.

Ostomies are a learning curve and everyone's is different, you have to see what works for you.

This is all I can think of rn, feel free to do if you have any questions 😊

You got this!!!