Hi, Kayla! Yes, welcome to the brave new world of stoma-dom. I think I can address the smell issue. Sometimes, a little waste can infiltrate underneath the faceplate, especially when it is nearing the end of its adhesion life. In the model I use, there is a somewhat stiff circular base that is the plastic that gets cut to fit around the stoma. It extends a little way beyond the flange the pouch connects to, but you can't really see it because the cloth-like cover that extends to the edge of the faceplate hides it. If waste gets underneath the faceplate (between the skin and the faceplate) it can work its way beyond the edge of the circular base, but not all the way to the edge of the faceplate. The cloth-like cover is slightly permeable, and you can start to get smells long before you see anything past the edge of the faceplate.
Also, if you have a filter in the pouch, and you get waste up over the filter (like when you sleep), it can overpower the filter (which is only designed to remove odors from the air space) and allow smells to escape.
For the most part, if you have smells that persist for several hours (and not just a fleeting whiff now and then), it's time to change the appliance or the pouch, depending on which it's coming from.
Good luck. Eventually, you will get the hang of it and know when you should worry and when not to. Until then, you are always welcome to post a question or a concern, and there are plenty of us who will try to address it, even if our answer is "Get to the doctor!" or "Nah, don't worry about it!"