Dear Kim: Northern Illinois had some record snow as well, but nothing like 14 feet! The new sod and soil beneath has likely seen some heaving from freezing and thawing so a light rolling would ensure good sod to soil contact for strong root growth into the soil once your temperatures allow. A lawn roller 1/4 to 1/3 full is usually enough. Keep the sod moist to allow the grass plants to get those roots into the soil and keep from shrinking and opening sod joints. Natural rainfall may be sufficient, just be prepared to do some watering if you do not recieve enough rain. You can see how you are doing by gently pulling up on the sod in a few places. You will feel when it has started to get roots into the soil.
If the new sod was not fertilized last fall, a balanced complete fertilizer could be applied at a low rate. You want to stimulate the grasss plant to encourage good rooting, but not so much that you need to mow every 3 or 4 days.
Start to mow as soon as the grass is tall enough. Make sure your mower blade is sharp as the new grass can be torn and pulled up if allowed to get too long and the mower blade is dull.
Good Luck!
